ipl-logo

Rosalind Franklin: An Example Of Discrimination In Science

1112 Words5 Pages

Ian Huang
Mr. Gonzalez
Modern World
1 March 2016
An Example of Discrimination in Science
In most science textbooks, Watson and Crick are the two men credited for the discovery of DNA. However, their findings were supported by the work of a number of other scientists, notably Rosalind Franklin. Even though their support from other scientists was instrumental for their discovery, Watson, Wilkins, and Crick jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962, with no mention of Rosalind Franklin. Until the 1990s, Rosalind Franklin had only been vaguely mentioned, even though she had played a huge role in the formulation of their ideas. Unfortunately, Rosalind Franklin died of ovarian cancer when she was thirty-seven in the year of 1958, …show more content…

As a girl, she faced some opposition from within the family, as her father did not believe in a higher education for women. He had wanted her to be a social worker, but Rosalind ultimately enrolled at Newnham College in 1938. Later on, she met Maurice Wilkins in John Randall 's laboratory at King 's College, London while working there as a research associate. Despite her extensive work on the DNA project, Wilkins saw her as a technical assistant because of the number of restrictions women had at the time (https://goo.gl/p1XZbH). Rosalind Franklin was also born of a Jewish family, so she faced some anti-semitism as well as discrimination for her strong personality, Maddox writes in the biography, Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. Additionally, James Watson’s Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA barely mentions the importance of Franklin’s contributions to his …show more content…

I could argue feminist stuff like above, or I could argue that it was a simple case of a scientific race (like below). After a bunch of research, I think that I want to make my paper more scientific and less on debating whether or not Rosalind Franklin was discriminated against, partially because there’s already a lot of feminist writings out there (and frankly, I don’t find it interesting enough to write 5 pages on), and partially because I want to learn more about DNA. I still need to figure out the info before I can do a proper draft the scientific details of the discovery of DNA, so for now I’m working with what I know (which is just about the controversy of Rosalind Franklin). (https://goo.gl/tSVCZw) Above all, Franklin noted that ‘an infinite variety of nucleotide sequences would be possible to explain the biological specificity of DNA’, thereby showing that she had glimpsed the most decisive secret of DNA: the sequence of bases contains the genetic code.

To prove her point, she would have to convert this insight into a precise, mathematically and chemically rigorous model. She did not get the chance to do this, because Watson and Crick had already crossed the finishing line – the Cambridge duo had rapidly interpreted the double helix structure in terms of precise spatial relationships and chemical bonds, through the construction of a physical

Show More
Related

Comparing Red Jacket And Benjamin Franklin

353 Words | 2 Pages

(Franklin, 1784/2013, p.245) Instead of immediately dismissing them as being different, he recognizes

Read More

Benjamin Franklin's Accomplishments

824 Words | 4 Pages

“Man 's tongue is soft, and bone doth lack; yet a stroke therewith may break a man 's back.” From Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1740, these are several out of thousands of wise words spoken by America’s greatest Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. He was among the most famous people of his time period and was one of the greatest celebrated figures in the history of the United States. There are numerous ways in which he achieved these titles but they all amount to the one feature that was constant throughout his entire life, success. Through inventing, writing, conducting science experiments such as detecting the presence of electricity in lightning, and being one of the biggest renowned diplomats during the 18th century, his life would leave a

Read More

Irene Joliot-Curie Accomplishments

952 Words | 4 Pages

She spent her life learning academia in-depth and getting quality education assured from her own mother. During the world war, she displayed bravery by working in military hospitals alongside her mother and taking x-rays. She would follow this by getting her doctorate and by establishing the beginning of nuclear fission. To add, she was an outspoken activist and even talked against naziism and fascism and the ability to make bombs from her research (Association Curie Joliot-Curie, 2023). References Association Curie Joliot-Curie.

Read More

Benjamin Franklin: An Advocate Of Free Speech

300 Words | 2 Pages

Apart from his tremendous writing skills, Franklin was also known for being an inventor and a scientist. He started to explore the many aspects of electricity in 1746 and was the first one to name the electrical charges as “positive” and “negative”; moreover, he created the lighting rod, which was a crucial invention

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Benjamin Franklin

261 Words | 2 Pages

To begin with, Benjamin Franklin is inspirational, The reason why he is inspirational franklin is a frugal, Inoffensive, Thrifty citizen, He said no one would fail because everyone could do it, And his role in the American Revolution. Moreover was also an inspiration, The reason why he is because he, A hero save many other people citizens, Also he participated in a long history of fighting britain. Benjamin franklin was a hero because of the honor, He brought our country in the American Revolution, And Benjamin Franklin involved the political opposition of his illegitimate, loyalist son, William. Benjamin Franklin, The inventor of such useful tools as the lightning rod and bifocal glasses, Moreover with his modern library system, A newspaper

Read More

How Did Benjamin Franklin Contribute To The Enlightenment

549 Words | 3 Pages

Born in 1706 as the eighth of 17 children to a Massachusetts soap and candlestick maker, the chances Benjamin Franklin would go on to become a gentleman, scholar, scientist, statesman, musician, author, publisher and all-around general genius were astronomically low, yet he did just that. Franklin wrote in the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in the 18th century. The ideals of the enlightenment are still thought of today, as they are a part of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When one remembers Benjamin Franklin very few people are aware of the fact that he worked as a printer until the age of 42. As a printer he had access to substantial amounts of literature.

Read More

Roger Sherman Research Paper

645 Words | 3 Pages

At age seven-teen Benjamin proposed to a fifteen year old by the name of Deborah Read. Like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin was a great author and he did very well as an author. In his great life he will probably always be remembered as being on the one hundred dollar bill. He died on April 17, 1790 in his home from a sickness called Pleurisy.

Read More

Similarities Between Benjamin Franklin And Esther Wheelwright

870 Words | 4 Pages

Franklin and Wheelwright Comparative Essay Benjamin Franklin and Esther Wheelwright were two very diverse individuals. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most prime figures in early American history. He was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat. He was especially acknowledged for creating the bifocals, the lightning rod, and the glass harmonica.

Read More

Abigail Fisher Discrimination

319 Words | 2 Pages

Public colleges and universities in the United States use a variety of factors to determine which students will be accepted. Universities often want a student body with diverse academic interests, talents, and backgrounds. They consider factors such as applicants’ grades, standardized test scores, community service, athletic or musical ability, and geographic location. Sometimes, universities also consider an applicant’s race or ethnicity. This case is about whether the University of Texas-Austin’s admissions policies violate the Fourteenth Amendment and its guarantee of equal protection.

Read More

Aretha Franklin Accomplishments

830 Words | 4 Pages

She later died on August 16, 2018, of pancreatic cancer. In conclusion, Aretha Franklin can be a great role model and should be remembered and

Read More

Benjamin Franklin A Misogynist

1032 Words | 5 Pages

Frankly, one should not discredit a person’s many good deeds in the presence of their private love life escapades. Franklin has been named a misogynist based on some graphically detailed advice found in a letter to a young man in 1745. While the letter encouraged his friend to take a wife, he went to great lengths to implore the man that if he should take a mistress instead, then he should choose an old woman. It’s an amusing argument that is easily taken in earnest when compared to how Franklin changes and evolves throughout his life. He proves himself a progressive thinking and innovative individual in the face of our nation’s serious atrocities against people of color.

Read More

Comparing Benjamin Franklin And Wheelwright

1003 Words | 5 Pages

Franklin is considered a successful man because he worked his way from poor to a great journalist, public affair man, and even a political person. He was able to accomplish them through a series of experiences as a male, without the need of religion. While Wheelwright is the successful woman she is considered today because of the languages she learned, the cultures she was apart of and the nun she became. Which is something that women in that day and age could never experience as just a female, and she experienced it because of religion and war. Both influential individuals lived lives that are considered outstanding and influential during their time of existence, and those experiences helped them outline life in that time and the boundaries

Read More

Rosalind Franklin Research Paper

715 Words | 3 Pages

Rosalind Franklin: A True Leader in Chemistry Rosalind Franklin was a true leader because she helped us with the understanding of DNA. She was born on July 25, 1920 and died April 16, 1958. she is most famous for her work with Photo 51, a picture taken by Raymond Gosling. Franklin is also famous for her work with finding the Tobacco Mosaic Virus.

Read More

Lilly Ledbetter Discrimination

594 Words | 3 Pages

On 20th January 2009, Barack Obama took office as the 44th president of the United States of America, becoming the first African American President in the history of the United States of America, a country where just fifty years ago he would not have been allowed to vote because of his skin colour (Alexander, 2009 p.5). Barack Obama was a popular presidential candidate and according to Corey (2009) “Almost 67 million people had voted for Barack Obama, including some voters that had never voted before, resulting in the most votes a president had ever received so far” (p.40). When Barack Obama wont the election in November 2008, his supporters believed that there would be change and that years of war, global warming, economic difficulties and

Read More

Rosalind Franklin Research Paper

427 Words | 2 Pages

She took a picture of the DNA structure and this is how the DNA structure came to be. All the other scientists that were working with her took the credit for the finding of “their” DNA structure, when in reality Rosalind Franklin was the one that actually found it. Rosalind was born into a Jewish family. When she was a young girl her parents noticed that she was a very intelligent girl, and it wasn’t until she was 15 years of age when she figured out she wanted to live her life as a scientist. She studied at many schools including: St Paul’s Girls School, Newnham College in Cambridge, and all of her studies lead her to the University of Cambridge.

Read More

More about Rosalind Franklin: An Example Of Discrimination In Science

Related Topics

Open Document